Hogwarts Legacy is a game that’s ideal for a wide variety of gamers. It’s one of the most immersive Harry Potter games to date, and it’s full of incredible content.
Whether you’re into relaxing stories, challenging combat, or a mix of the both, you’ll be happy to know that there are multiple difficulty settings to pick from in the game.
To be more precise, there’s four of them to choose from.
To help you get the most out of the game, here’s a quick guide on how to choose your difficulty level in Hogwarts Legacy. I’ll also look at how to pick the best difficulty setting to fit your play style later in the article.
How to Pick Your Difficulty Setting
To start off, you’ll be able to pick your Hogwarts Legacy difficulty setting when you start up the game for the first time.
Simply follow the character creation process, and tab over to the final button in the menu when you’re done customizing your appearance.
In this tab, you’ll be able to change elements like your character name, voice, dormitory, and most importantly, your desired difficulty setting.
You can pick from story mode, easy, normal, or hard, and I’ll look at which one to pick later.
Once you’ve picked your difficulty level, double check your choices and hit the ‘Start Your Journey’ button in the lower right hand corner to kickstart your adventure.
How to Choose the Best Difficulty Level
Picking the right difficulty level in a game can feel confusing, especially seeing as it relies on you guessing how hard or demanding the game will be.
There’s no right way to play Hogwarts Legacy, so here’s my suggestion.
Once you’ve finished building your character, think about the types of games that you typically enjoy, especially the games you replay.
Are you a fan of challenging Soulslike content? Do you enjoy relaxing stories that play out like visual novels? Is this your first RPG? Getting a feel for your preferred play style will help you decide which difficulty option to go for.
Here’s where I’d recommend starting, based on your previous gaming experience and favorite types of games:
- Story. If you’ve not played an RPG before and don’t want to jump into something intense, go for story mode! This is ideal for people who want to focus on the lore, take it slow, and complete the game quickly. It’s the one I picked for my first playthrough.
- Easy. This is the mode that I’d recommend for folk who have played RPGs before but still want a chilled experience overall. It will throw up a little more difficulty than story mode, but still won’t push you too hard or feel frustrating.
- Normal. It’s likely that most people will be opting to play on normal mode, and it’s the one I’d recommend if you want an equal mix of story-driven content and challenging combat or puzzles. There will be some difficulty here, but nothing too intense.
- Hard. Do you like a challenge? If you’re a fan of tricky games like Soulsborne titles, this is the mode for you. It’s not going to be as hard as a game like Elden Ring by any means, but this mode presents a real challenge with battles, boss fights, and puzzles.
If you’re really struggling with picking a difficulty level, remember you can create four characters in this game.
Why not start off on a story mode character and then switch to a hard mode character later on? It’s a good way to experience different aspects of the game.
I’m glad they included four save slots, as it means you can check out all the house common rooms and house-exclusive quests.
Your house doesn’t affect the main storyline too much, but if you’re looking to 100% the game and complete every side quest, it’s important to note the small differences.
What to Do Next
Now that you’ve picked out which difficulty level to play Hogwarts Legacy on, finish creating your character and customizing your appearance.
There’s plenty of ways to express yourself in this game, ranging from picking hair colors and makeup, to changing your voice and deciding whether you want your hood up or down.
Start thinking about what traits and specializations you want your character to have, too.
It’s crucial to note that traits cannot be repicked in Hogwarts Legacy, so think about how you want to play and pick the best traits based on that.
